Humza Yousaf heads into his first party conference as SNP leader amid a harrowing family crisis that will overshadow the domestic political turbulence that awaits him.
The First Minister will arrive in Aberdeen for the three-day gathering understandably distracted by fears for the safety of his family who are trapped in Gaza.
The parents of his wife Nadia – Dundee residents Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla – are unable to leave amid the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian territory.
It is an international tragedy that has brought untold misery to hundreds of thousands of people and provides some pertinent perspective on the brittle debate over trivial differences that often dominate Scottish politics.
Party issues
But this is an SNP conference – and an important one – so the normal diet of constitutional bickering and devolved policy making will still be front and centre over the weekend.
Mr Yousaf likes to describe himself as first activist as well as first minister, and it has been crises inside the SNP rather than government gaffes which have caused him the most difficulty since assuming the new role in April.
He has had to contend with the arrest of his predecessor and senior party figures; as well the abandonment of key policies, vocal internal criticism of his government and a bruising by-election defeat.
East Kilbride MP Lisa Cameron has also defected to the Conservatives, a significant victory for Rishi Sunak, while Douglas Ross has said he is speaking with renegade SNP MSPs who want to work together to defeat the Scottish Government on key policies.
It means the party faithful will gather under their new leader less confident and more fractured than they have been for many years – with party veteran Fergus Ewing choosing not to bother turning up at all.
There has been strong criticism from Mr Ewing and other MSPs in the Holyrood group of the party’s power sharing deal with the Scottish Greens, something Mr Yousaf seems likely to spend continued political capital defending.
This more fractious party than either of his most recent predecessors led comes as even those most committed to Scotland breaking away from the UK admit it is viewed as far from imminent.
In an interview with The Courier, Perthshire MP Pete Wishart conceded it could take multiple election cycles for the de-facto referendum strategy to show results.
But this strategy itself is up for debate at the conference, yet another area where deep internal divisions first exposed during the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon could be exposed for all to see.
It means Mr Yousaf is unlikely to be able to use a serious push for independence to rally the troops and unite his party and will instead have to manage expectations if he is not to overpromise and deliver another bitter disappointment.
All of this take place after a by-election loss in Rutherglen and Hamilton West of a scale no one in the party saw coming. While they were far from sure of victory, few in the SNP expected Scottish Labour to win by such a significant majority.
And loss is unfamiliar to the SNP. Combined with challenging polling, 2024 will be the first election year the party enter with success far from guaranteed.
His party’s conference should be friendly territory. Yet uniting the SNP and securing his leadership, while also speaking to the country and setting out a clear agenda, will require significant political skill on Humza Yousaf’s part.
His skill and suitability for the top job has been questioned inside the party ever since he took over at Bute House.
If he survives this challenge amid such extraordinary circumstances Humza Yousaf may just return to Holyrood stronger than ever. If not, then those with doubts about whether he is the right leader will only be strengthened in their resolve.
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